We recently shared a personal story about WC matching with a leukemia patient through the NMDP Be The Match program. About two months ago, after nearly 10 years on the donor list, he matched for a patient with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), the same leukemia my dad battled three times before passing away in 2021. In December and January, WC went for several blood tests and the patient’s doctors decided he was the best match.
The Stem Cell Donation
WC’s stem cell donation was scheduled for February 5 in Tempe, Arizona. Our Workup Specialist with NMDP, Bailey, booked our flights and hotel and took care of the details. We flew to Tempe, Arizona arriving the evening before and headed straight to our hotel for a good night’s rest. The next morning, we arrived at the Vitalant Blood Donation center bright and early for a 7:00 start.
Nurse Valerie took great care of WC. The apheresis machine takes blood from one arm, separates out the stem cells, and then returns the other blood cells into the other arm. The doctors were hoping to obtain 392 million blood cells from WC for the patient. Well, it turns out he’s what they call a “super mobilizer” and the process collected 691 million!
Before we left the donation center, WC added a pin to the donor’s board marking our home in Colorado.
Become a Donor with NMDP/Be The Match!
If you’re considering joining the donor registry, DO IT! Leukemia and other blood cancers do not discriminate. Your donation could save someone’s child, parent, sibling, spouse. If you’re selected as a stem cell donor, the process only takes a few days time on your part and potentially gives someone years of additional life.
If you’re worried about the expense, NMDP covers travel to the donation center for the donor and a person of the donor’s choice. Meals and childcare/pet care are also covered by the organization. If you don’t feel like you could be a donor, please consider a financial donation to cover expenses for donors like WC.
A Few Hours Exploring Tempe, AZ
After we left the donation center, WC was pretty tired so we went back to the hotel. He rested for awhile while I worked. By the time he woke from his nap, we were both hungry and took a Lyft two miles into downtown Tempe to get a late lunch. Then we spent a couple hours wandering around and checking out the Tempe art.
We also walked down to Tempe Town Lake. On a normal travel day, we probably would have rented a pedal boat or paddleboards to explore, but you’re not supposed to do much strenuous exercise after donating so we just snapped a few photos.
And from there it was back to the hotel for another good night’s sleep before flying home to Denver!
After The Stem Cell Donation
The patient WC donated for is located in another country. We know a courier picked up the cells from Vitalant shortly after we left and flew them abroad. The patient underwent the transplant the following day. It usually takes several weeks for blood cells to start producing normally but we don’t know any results thus far and we might not find out. We can only hope everything goes perfectly for the patient and he gets many more years of life with his loved ones!
During the years my dad battled AML, he had three recurrences. Having a bone marrow donor the first time and a stem cell donor the second time allowed us to have more than six additional years. You could be that person. Be The Match.
In Loving Memory: Robert “Bob” Joseph Wolski, Jr.:
